Time to move on?

If it burns oil, yes. If it needs a head gasket, probably. If it needs a brake booster, your call. All depends on your finances, a new or recent car will be more reliable and have less $2,500 to $7,500 repairs in its future. Plus better crash test ratings and far better safety systems.

 

Lol... These cars are good for more than 300K freeway miles. You aren't even half way there yet.

 

if it is running well with no issues, sell it while you can before a big dollar breakdown presents itself.
it will bring good money if it has no issues

 

Agree

 

Lol... At 135K miles? That the closest thing to what me and my friends consider a nearly brand new car for purchase... Ya'll are crazy the way you keep alive the 1950's nonsense of a motor vehicle only lasting for 100K miles.

Please understand that its been 60-90 years since that reality was true and modern days cars last way, way longer than that.

For example, when my '92 Subaru engine failed at 300K miles and replacement heads were no longer available it was 2012 and I bought a 2007 Prius with 104K miles. And here we are 13 more years later and the car is still in beautiful condition with zero problems at 297K miles.

All ya'll are so wasteful and overconsumption and its killing the only planet we have for a home.

 

This is the first time I heard of a Prius being a garage queen

 

I’ve got a ‘10 that just rolled over 103k. Kilometres.

 

^ That's 64,000 in 'Freedom Units.'
Better get used to those conversions if you hope for BC to be our 54th state....

@ the op:
Mandatory retirement ages make a lot of sense in lots of areas:
Airline Pilots
Military Members
US Presidents
...like that.

For cars, it's more like athletes.
Mandatory retirement is more of a physical and a money thing.

We'll need MANY more deets for your particular car including mileage, number of owners, and most importantly how it was serviced, and why are you posting?
Where it was stored when not in use (NM.)
What's your MPG?
Your state probably has an emissions programme.
Does your car pass?

Your financial situation will also bear on the answer.
You present as a 9-10k miles per year driver whose 'maintenance plan' is to throw the key fob at the dealer every now and then and pay the bill. You're also not a kid because you're driving the family model....of the PRIUS.
New Mexico can be hard on traction (big) batteries and your car has a major design flaw that is about to turn it into a hangar queen awaiting a 4-5 figure repair bill.

If most of my presumptions are true then sell the car to somebody who will get another 150k miles out of it and get a newer car.
If woke up with this car in my driveway and the fob and title on the kitchen table I would immediately inspect the brakes and tires, clean out the EGR and intake, change all of the filters and ALL of the fluids and assess my chances of hitting 300,000 miles without a major repair bill.

If your Prius does not already have the 'death rattle' I'm guessing my chances would be WELL above average.
Best of luck!

 

Mendel is the number one owner of a Prius garage queen. Young Prince Tesla is waiting in the wings but he will be old before he gets the throne.

It certainly helps to have a high mile version (my v has 320,000 miles compared to Mendel's 64,000 miles) and have Toyota and independent mechanics as friends to really understand the scope and frequency of gen3 issues. Egrs are low on the list.

 

Experience has taught me that a gen 3 Prius has either reached the end of life at 135k, or is close.
Of course, it depends on circumstances. If you can diy, there may be many miles left at reasonable costs of time and money.
But if you are dependent on others for diagnosis and repair, you can be looking at more than the value of the car in future repairs

 

Exactly. But some commenters would rather sell their aftermarket battery packs to the 175k-225k mile owner down the line or are owners who don't mind the downtime, frustration and subsequent loss of confidence when their brake by wire system, inverter, hybrid battery or head gasket fails unexpectedly. All of which are known issues as are the sub par crash tests results of a 2012-14 Prius v.

There is never a "best" time to sell a car but getting the most at trade in or through private sale is clearly optimized when the car is still functionally 100% and has lower miles.

 

Wow... You only have 64K miles on your Prius? That's crazy low numbers!

 

I think the primary reason people's car don't last very long is there's an epidemic of negligence among people who never bothered to learn how to repair and maintain their possessions and capitalism loves those people just the way they are.

I'm at the point that I really don't want to work on people's Prius anymore unless they're willing to learn how to do the work themselves. I got one lady that after 3 years of her texting me when she's more than 2 quarts low and red triangle is coming on around corners and hard braking, she's finally learning how to use a dipstick and add a quart of oil.

But I got other Prius owners that take my beautiful cleaning work and let their dogs crap all over it and not notice because their car is full of too much junk, or they get in constant fender benders and just generally don't take responsibility for their vehicle. I used to think I could reform those people, now I just tell them that I'll coach them or a friend or family member to do the work, but am too busy to work on their cars anymore.

 

it's nothing new. there have always been dealer service and private mechs. it's just that not many private mechs are interested in ev's. they have plenty of gassers to work on.

 

Here is a third party highly skilled engineer who does advanced diagnostics and necessary repairs

Starts at 9:20 for summary

What he does not mention is these cars are usually bad oil burners as they age, the inverters suddenly fail without warning and the 2012 - 2014 Prius v's have poor crash test results.

 

i bet that cost a pretty penny. the owner should have diy'ed it

 

misposted

 

I let my Gen 3 go last year, at 95,000 kms, because I was worried about upcoming repairs.
I may not have needed to upgrade to my Gen 5, but I am still glad I did. It's a much better vehicle.

 

me too, dumped mine at 87k after experiencing ongoing misfires, but i was ready to move on after 11 years anyway.